A popular dewormer for dogs has become a treatment of choice for cancer patients, drawing skepticism from some but also inspiring others to try it. Known as the Joe Tippens Protocol, it includes a regimen of fenbendazole, CBD oil, turmeric (tumeric), and vitamins.

In a series of videos shared on TikTok and Facebook, a Canadian veterinarian is seen telling the story of how his own pancreatic cancer was cured using a dewormer for dogs called fenbendazole. The drug, also referred to as mebendazole or albendazole, is used to treat parasitic worms like roundworm and hookworm in pets, but has not been approved to treat human cancer. A federal cancer agency tells PolitiFact that more study is needed before the medication can be considered an effective human cancer treatment.

The anecdotal evidence supporting the use of fenbendazole for cancer is compelling, but doctors are cautioning that it’s too early to recommend the drug. Fenbendazole, or fenbendazole carbamate, is an anti-parasitic medication that’s also an anthelmintic. It’s available over-the-counter in pill form and is sold under the brand names Safe Guard, Pro Sense, and Panacur.

Fenbendazole works by cutting off the supply of nutrition to parasitic worms by blocking their ability to make tubulin, which serves as both a cell’s micro-skeleton and a highway for transport. When scientists paired fenbendazole with sorafenib, a standard of care drug for liver cancer, they found that it killed tumour cells engrafted into mice. The combination of the two drugs may also stop the spread of cancerous cells by inhibiting a protein called PD-L1 and increasing the production of molecules that promote healthy cells and suppress tumor growth. dewormer for cancer